Can You Hear Me Now?

About.com has this to say about Mercury Retrograde:

This happens three to four times per year, when the planet Mercury slows down, and appears to stop (station) and move backward (retrograde). It's an optical illusion, since there is forward movement, like speeding by a slow-moving train -- as it recedes, it appears to go backward.

Since Mercury rules communication, it's said that everything goes haywire in that area -- emails get deleted or bounced back, mail is returned, calls go out into the ethers, etc. Some people find that their computers go on the fritz or phone lines go down. I've never seen the hard data on this, so make your own observations. It does seem though that miscommunications abound during the retrograde period.

Mercury retrograde gives us time to catch up with ourselves, and to look back. Something from the past might return in a different form. This can mean people, ideas or buried insights that need to surface for you to move forward. Often it's felt as a contemplative time, depending on the sign, a chance to go over old ground again, to claim what you missed the first time.

I first came across the concept of Mercury Retrograde while living amongst a Pagan community. Unfortunately, Pagans often get lumped in with Witchcraft and practitioners of the Dark Arts. The reality is far less exciting, as these gentle earth worshipers are more artsy craftsy folk who are simply more in tune with nature's energies. While some people celebrate Easter and Christmas, Pagans celebrate Maypole and Yule. So no, it wasn't like living with the three sisters from "Charmed".

I like the idea of a period of inward reflection, a 'time out' for the soul, if you will. We need these moments in our lives to rebalance ourselves before we can move forward again. It's rather easy to get stuck in your own head, as even I would discover recently. It took my own fearless copilot to point out that I wasn't flying my ship as I should be in this current period of Mercury Retrograde, which runs from September 7th to the 29th. I had been disconnected, my ship on autopilot. She effectively communicated this to me, and I was able to immediately see the disconnection and take steps to correct it.

That's another great thing about this period of introspection. It's gives us the opportunity to work on our effective communication skills with each other. A time to say clearly what we mean so there are no mixed signals or crossed wires. Water can flow effortlessly over the rocks. Those lost TV receptions, dropped cell phone calls, and lost emails are actually a blessing, so embrace them. The energy shifts, nudging us to find ways to communicate more honestly (or honorably) in this life.

I had been walking one day a week sans musical accompaniment in an effort to remain connected in the moment, but I think I'll leave the music home for the duration of the Retrograde and listen to my inner voice for all that it has to say. Yes, I know that Kenny Loggins still wants me to fly the "Danger Zone", but I'm sure even Kenny landed his jet once in a while to contemplate the setting of the sun.